Cognitive skills gaps in India: can (late) nutrition ameliorate them?

Using unique data from very young children in India, we estimate a value-added
model of cognition. We use exposure to the Mid Day Meal Scheme interacted
with a non-linearity in how birth year exogenously affects the probability of
enrollment in public schools as an instrumental variable for nutrition. We find
that a 1-standard-deviation (SD) increase in height-for-age at age 5 leads to
cognitive test scores 11 to 14 percent of an SD higher at age 8. This result sup-
ports the recent literature on catch-up growth, particularly as effects are much
larger for children who suffered from drought.